Where I discuss the roots of modern Japanese comedy called rakugo...

Owarai began with the traditional comedy called rakugo.  Rakugo is a performance where a single rakugo-ka (the story teller) sits on stage and tells a witty, humorous story.  In "Popular Performing Arts: Manzai and Rakugo," Muneo Jay Yoshikawa writes:

Rakugo can be described as a popular comic art performed by one person.  One must be able to have the skill of creating a stage, background, and atmosphere in the minds of the audience and also be able to play the parts of the characters that appear in the stories being narrated.

And in "Rakugo and Humor in Japanese Interpersonal Communication," Kimie Oshima states:

Rakugo is a unique form of storytelling that includes comic acting and mimicry as well as the art of narration.  Japanese audiences appreciate the continuity of the style, structure, and rich tradition of rakugo as it has been passed on to succeeding generations; at the same time, they want to see social and cultural changes reflected in rakugo.  Newer stories do reflect modern Japanese society and are as much appreciated as classic stories.  Today's events will be history tomorrow, so reflections of today's society are blended into rakugo tradition. 

Rakugo began in the Edo period and later flourished again in Tokyo and Osaka.  "However, with the arrival of radio and movies, rakugo gradually began to decline in popularity in both Tokyo and Osaka.  Osaka, in particular, began to change its focus from rakugo-centered to manzai-centered yose" (yose refers to the venue where they performed; historically, it was a large room in a house) (Yoshikawa).

I will discuss manzai in a later post.  What is particularly interesting about rakugo that translates into modern manzai-centered comedy in Japan is the proximity of these performers to their audience.

Even some of the most prestigious venues of rakugo are very small, and the audience sits near the performer. Today, the most successful geinin of Japan are considered more accessible than highly held actors and musicians because they carry on this tradition of proximity.  The theaters that the geinin perform are usually small with a local flavor.  This contributes to the huge success of geinin today.

What also translate to the modern owarai is the practice of deshi.  The deshi is the apprentice or the intern.  It is a traditional practice where he learns the art of rakugo from the master.  "The master trains the student verbally by imitation and repetition" (Oshima).  The deshi, in return, may carry out tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry for the master.  Before owarai schools were established (which I will discuss more later), this was the common practice in order to become a rakugo-ka or a geinin.

Rakugo is also studied by the geinin to not only learn the classical humor but also to learn the art of speech such as timing and tempo.  In this sense, rakugo is a practiced art form and serves as a text for today's Japanese comedians.  This practiced, perfected, and repeated nature of Rakugo, its set structure, in my opinion, is why other forms of comedy that are popular today are viewed with respect and as a legitimate art form.  It is why the geinin are called the professional of speech, or hanashi-ka, and it is why they, aside from anchors, are the main personnels on television shows ranging from comedy to sports to news programs.

Finally, although rakugo is no longer the main-stream form of comedy in Japan, it prevails in popular culture, and there are occasional attempts (successful and unsuccessful) at reviving the popularity of rakugo.  Two recent hits were the drama series Tiger and Dragon and the film Shaberedomo Shaberedomo.

Tiger and Dragon

Shaberedomo Shaberedomo


What is particularly interesting about Tiger and Dragon is that each episode is a modern-day remake of a rakugo story and has won many screenwriter and literary awards.  Because of this drama series, it was observed that younger people started to take interest and listened more rakugo, and following this series, Shoten (a comedy stage/television program featuring rakugo-ka) experienced an increase in the number of viewers.

And also in the last few years, geinin has started to compete in a televised competition called R-1 Grand Prix to carry on the tradition of rakugo (R stands for rakugo; the competition is a spin-off of M-1 Grand Prix, which I will explain later).  The competition is opened for any solo comedy acts, unlike in manzai competitions that require two.  Although R-1 Grand Prix carries rakugo in its name, it is not restricted to rakugo and is more of an attempt to show case solo performers as well as revive rakugo through increased exposure of solo performances and use of the word rakugo in the media.

Where I give you some vocabulary words...

Owarai has its own set of vocabulary that was developed throughout its history.  Japan is currently experiencing the fifth generation of comedy boom (owarai dai go sedai).  Because of this and the current young generation's tendency to invent or adapt new words into the Japanese language, the owarai vocabulary has started to become used in every day conversations.  So next time you visit Japan or speak with a Japanese person, you can make use of these words and impress the person you are speaking to.

owarai - literally, laughter; the Japanese name for the genre of comedy

owarai geinin or geinin - comedians

pin - a solo comedian, one who does not belong to a comedy group; comes from

konbi - a comedy duo; derived from the word "combination"

aikata - the partner, especially in a konbi

boke - literally, a fool; one of the duo that makes foolish or ridiculous comments, or engages in foolish behaviors in order to make the audience laugh; or such statements or behaviors

tsukkomi -literally, to stick in or insert; one of the duo that makes a "sharp" statement that highlights or emphasizes the boke

beta - carries two meanings: 1. cliche - the humor of beta is found in the ridiculousness of the person engaging in a cliche act or making a cliche statement; 2. classic - this is used with some sense of respect where the person engages in a repeatedly practiced, performed, and perfected act

ochi - literally, a fall as in the action, comes from the word ochiru (to fall); this is the ending or the climax of the story, the peak of the humor in the comedy

suberu - literally, to slip; this is used to describe a situation (or the person) where the humor was not perceived or understood by the audience, usually resulting in awkward silence

tendon - literally, the food tempura-don; most likely derived from the first part of the word donden gaeshi, meaning a sudden, dramatic twist; ten means to roll, conveying the idea that the same humor is continuously brought back to use; often the act of repeating is funnier than the humorous statement or act itself

teppan - literally, a metal plate; comes from the fact that teppan is katai which means hard or solid; katai in the Japanese language carry the notion that something is solid and constant, therefore, teppan is a humorous statement or act that always make the audience laugh

Other vocabulary will be added as I encounter more words that I believe should be added.

Where I speculate on the cause of the "misunderstanding" in American audiences...

Perhaps, "misunderstanding" is not an accurate term.  It may be more appropriate to say that the American audience of the Japanese game shows has a "different understanding."  Most viewers are not aware of the Japanese comedy, and thus, they cannot appreciate the shows in the same light as the Japanese audience.  Yet, this is not a one-way phenomenon.  Japanese audience, for the most part, does not understand American comedy either.


I remember when the movie "The Mask" (1994) came out during February 1995 in Japan.  The movie starred Jim Carrey, one of the most successful comedic actors of the time.





However, many Japanese viewers did not understand the humor in the movie.  Language can be translated, but the subtle nuances and the American culture associated with them cannot be.  And even today, foreign comedy films experience little success in Japan compared to other films that strongly focus on the story line.


What is interesting is that, in America, the Japanese game shows are popular unlike American comedy in Japan.


So what is happening in the United States of America to account for the success of Japanese comedy?


To understand this, one should first watch these two trailers.


1. Gojira (1954)



2. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)



The first movie Gojira is the Japanese original where as the second movie Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a heavily-edited version of the original.  The success of Godzilla in America can be attributed to the technique film producers used to attract the American viewers.
A. Godzilla included a western character/narrator that was not in the original.  The westernization of the original movie allows the audience to relate to the movie and become more attached to it.  
B. Godzilla is heavily dubbed.  The dubbing (including many terrible dialogues) makes the movie cheesy.  In "Gojira as Japan's First Postwar Media Event," Barak Kushner quote Annalee Newitz as she states, "[Cultural cheese is] the production of, and appreciation for, what is artificial, exaggerated, or wildly, explosively obscene."  The cheesiness was another way in which the foreign film was made more acceptable to the American viewers.


These two techniques can be seen even in the trailer shown above.


And just as Godzilla was "popular in different ways in Japan than America" (Kushner),  the Japanese game shows are also differently perceived in Japan and America.  The same practice that was found in Godzilla, King of the Monsters! can be found in the Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.



A. The hosts of the show receive a western name.  Sonomanma Higashi is called Kenny Blankenship, and Beat Takeshi is called Vic Romano.
B. The show is heavily dubbed.  This certainly succeeds in portraying the show as something extremely cheesy.


The same techniques are employed in Godzilla, King of the Monsters and the Japanese game shows as shown in American media.  And the end result is also similar.  Godzilla, King of the Monsters! stripped away the historical/political relevance the original Gojira carried.  The Japanese game shows in America stripped away the historical and artistic context of Japanese comedy.  While they both gained popularity, they became something less.  Something not as sophisticated or cultured.


What I want to be understood is that the Japanese game shows in America is no longer a Japanese game show.  It is an American game show, just like Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is an American film.  There is an obvious difference between the original and the export.  And we all must recognize the differences before we simplify the Japanese as silly people with silly games.

Where I talk about the purpose of this blog...

JAPAN...

...where people look for dragon balls

...where people run away from Godzilla

...where people play baseball

...where people have kinky sex with others (real or animated)

I am sure the list of stereotypes can go on.

The purpose of this blog is to go against one of such stereotypes:

Japanese Game Shows

In recent years, America has found a place in the media for Japanese game shows.
One of the first was the Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, or MXC.

As MXC gained popularity and people became more interested, there was a YouTube sensation called the human tetris.

And finally, America (specifically ABC) has created their own "Japanese game show" called I Survived A Japanese Game Show.

In my opinion, there exists a misunderstanding when I look at the audiences of these game shows in America.  What does not translate in this Japanese game show trend/popularity is the history and the art of Japanese comedy.  The participants in the game shows are comedians, or owarai geinin (literally, comedy entertainers or entertainers who make people laugh), and they deliberately engage in ridiculous acts to make the audience laugh.

Comedy in Japan is part of every day life; one cannot watch a television show in Japan without encountering Japanese comedians, whether the show is a drama, a variety, or a comedy.  These comedians make up one of the largest sectors of the Japanese entertainment industry along with actors and musicians.  Not only is the history of Japanese comedy rich and deep, the history of each owarai geinin is also filled with fascinating stories.  I hope that this blog will bring new respect for the owarai (comedy) culture of Japan to the audiences of the Japanese game shows as portrayed in the American media.